Vladan Kuzmanović, a professor and one of the candidates on Serbia’s student-backed electoral list “Students Win,” has called on the Serbian List to prioritize the interests of Serbs living in Kosovo rather than those of Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
“The Serbian List must start working in the interests of citizens — Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija — and not in the interests of the Serbian Progressive Party and keeping that regime in power,” Kuzmanović said during an appearance on TV Nova’s Probudi se program.
He said the student-backed movement would first focus on improving citizens’ living conditions before continuing negotiations that had already begun but, in his assessment, had reached a dead end because of what he described as the previous government’s hypocritical policies.
“First, citizens must be able to live with dignity, without anyone oppressing them, including local power brokers and criminal clans. Then we can work to improve the position of citizens and the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia,” Kuzmanović said.
His remarks come amid renewed debate over the political representation of Serbs in Kosovo following the reported electoral defeat of the SNS-led ruling bloc in Serbia and the rise of the student-backed movement.
The Serbian List has traditionally been the dominant political force among Kosovo Serbs and has maintained close ties with Belgrade. Kuzmanović’s comments signal a call for the party to place greater emphasis on the everyday concerns and welfare of the community it represents.
